Record-Breaking Thread

Don't have just citrus here, we've also got a few nectarines, plums and cherries for our own use. Was out in the grove and noticed we've got ripe nectarines right now. They sure don't taste like what they sell in the stores. Delicious! Working out in the grove takes the mind off all that's going on in our world lately. Must say it's quite therapeutic. Weather is great here right now too...

Temps in the 60's F today with sun, so stowed the propane tank warming blankets back in the basement, took the covers off the outside water spigots, re-charged both lines and hooked up the hoses for watering plants.

Looking out two weeks weather-wise don't see any temps dropping below freezing but even if they did there wouldn't be a hard freeze. Lots of things beginning to sprout so even though it still looks winter barren outside things are about to pop.

Mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday. Glad, too, as the rest of the week is supposed to be rainy on and off. Outdoor work will cease for a bit. Did break protocol yesterday and went to Lowe's to order a new entry door for the side of the house. The current portal isn't a very good one. And, whoever installed it (I like to call them Half-A$$ Construction CO.) didn't do a proper job either. Gaps everywhere. I'll be happy to have it hung correctly when the new one arrives.

At our Lowes there are strict policies for shoppers per square foot so we'd have to wait in line for shoppers to leave.

They have done that at the Walmarts around here. Lowe’s just has tape and other signs on the floor directing folks where to wait and where to stand for assistance. They also have plexiglass shields in place at all the counters. I do hope this all passes sooner than later.

Lockheed Martin in Salina has contracts, is currently busy, and is hiring. The work that they do on radar, electronic warfare systems, warship defense systems, etc., seem to have good future.

My great uncle started out at General Dynamics and retired at Lockheed. He will never discuss what he did (I do know that he has a master in mathematics and master in electrical engineering) but he used to have to provide a very detailed itinerary of his vacations to his employers (# of nights, address and phone number). The post-retirement package (especially medical plans), I am told is phenomenal.

Wednesday - We had a pretty strong front come through last night. Lots of thunderboomers, plenty of rain, and pretty high winds, though no tornadoes here, at least. It's calm this morning, though more rain is supposed to be on the way.

Rainy today with a high only about 50ºF. They are actually predicting snow for later today and tomorrow. Perhaps as much as three inches! I hope they are wrong. At least I got the lawn mowed earlier in the week.

The lockdown is going okay. Plus, I got my first unemployment payment deposited overnight. I was eligible to make my first claim yesterday. I did so early in the morning so as to avoid the website bogging down as more folks tried to access it later in the day. I wasn't expecting it to take less than 24 hours to get the money, but I'm definitely not complaining.

Thursday - Woke up to snow on the ground and mid-30s temperatures, though the snow has zero chance of surviving. Yesterday it was booze-buying and car-fueling. Today it's puddy-cat food for starving puddy-cats, plus whatever else might need to happen.

Got first time Instacart order from Big Y today. Re-stocking bananas, apples, bread, seltzer, diet coke etc, with the big treat a salmon avacado sushi roll. Grateful for fresh fruit, veggies and the occasional sushi I took for granted until Covid showed up. Starting to pull chicken and meat out of the downstairs freezer/fridge as we've stayed in the house now for a couple of weeks.

As this thing peaks we're doing our best to lay low. Wiped down or rinsed groceries before putting them away. Today almost 800 died in NYC and 200 in Connecticut but the numbers arriving into hospital are dropping which is a good sign.

Hard part is continuing isolation as the numbers begin to fall and other hot spots play out. Would prefer not to have a second wave.

About three months ago got a Peloton spinning bike. (Happy accident timing wise) Since the pandemic it has saved my life as all fitness centers are closed. Haven't missed a day on the bike since March 14th. Raising the heart rate every day lowers hunger for alcohol and sugar. Still enjoy them but need less. :-) Lost 7 pounds while resting heart rate is 50 during the day and touches 40 briefly most nights (thanks fitbit)

If I ever get a simulator I might never leave the house by choice. :-)

I agree with you about coming back too soon. I'm not certain this May 1st goal is wise. While I wouldn't enjoy it, I'd be willing to stay locked down longer if it meant no second wave. Or, at the very least, a less severe second wave.

Friday - Finished off the first season of ST: Picard ... wow. Among many other things, it really was a HOMECOMING, and those of you who have seen it know what I mean. Borrowed a bit from the first Avengers movie, too, and I'm not sure I'm wild for that, but overall, I thought it was pretty darn good.

It had just enough fan service for you to stay at the "Hey! He/She is back! Cool!" level and not descend into "If I wanted to see this I can just watch ST:TNG instead".

Have you watched Star Trek Discovery yet? I've got like three episodes left in the second season and for the life of me I can't figure out why "fans" hated it. The worst thing I can say about it is the hull numbers make things confusing, as the much more advanced Discovery has an much earlier hull number (NCC 1031) than the Enterprise's famous NCC 1701.